Toward a predominantly male analysis of the annoyance/rage continuum in intimate heterosexual relationships

This thesis operates, unashamedly, from the premise that every act of criticism involves a self-reflexive gesture of one's own concerns and ideological imprintings. For this reason Chapter One establishes the writer's own involvement - both autobiographical and theoretical - in notions of male rage and the 'working through' of these concerns. Chapter Two conducts an overview of male rage and the extant systemic literature on the subject. It sets out the various positions on the subject and posits the importance of gender (over generation) in the praxis of therapy. Furthermore, it explores the possibility that the male is equally, but differently, troubled by the hegemonic forces of patriarchy as is the woman. Without diminishing the legitimacy of the woman's experience in the face of male rage, the argument is forwarded that the male is caught in a similar struggle but without the feminine articulatory resources. This chapter details the lack of male power in the face of his supposed muscular omnipotence. Seminal analytic approaches to the question of gender are raised in Chapter Three. Working through Freud, Klein, Lacan and Masters and Johnson an attempt is made to plot the 'evolution' of the feminine and the masculine. Central to this debate is the bi-polarization of gender relations within the same sex (biology/construction) and without (phallic/vaginal, clitoral, passive/active). What emerges is that femininity is bi-focal and that the woman has more resources at her disposal that hitherto acknowledged. While the woman is always double - as both clitoral and vaginal, as lover and mother- it appears that male sexuality is far more precarious than generally perceived. It is this dis-ease on the part of the male that translates itself into envy and, with it, the need to denigrate and belittle woman as the object of that envy. In Chapter 4 an attempt is made to overlap the seemingly divergent fields of analytic and systemic methodologies via the involvement of the therapist in the eco-system of analysis. The substantial role of the therapist -- and the coercive forces placed on him/her by the couple -- is used to modify Elkaim's model and to introduce the need for a telling of the particular stories that concentrate on the unique narratives of the warring couple rather than the patriarchal regime under which these stories are constrained. Before encountering these narratives an essay is made at establishing a methodology of sorts. Newton's scientific formulations are used in order to question the binary opposition that has been, historically, established between quantitative (male) and qualitative (female) methodologies. In the process of questioning this binary opposition it becomes clear that any form of objectifying approach constitutes a refuge from the messiness that is intrinsic to the therapeutic process. The experimental methodology that is posited is precisely one that engages in the narratives of male violence - four extracts are considered, each exposing different articulations of male violence. The question of female subjectivity (and the attendant power of the sorority) is returned to in light of these stories. Central to this section is the notion that male subjectivity is far more convoluted - perhaps more that the feminine counterpart - than initially conceived. The original identification with the (m)other forever displaces him in that the later identification with the father remains distant and contrived. For the purposes of maintaining the dialogic nature of this work, a feminist appraisal of the rage narratives concludes the thesis. Don Quixote is used, by way of an Epilogue, to offer three representations of male subjectivity and to look towards alternative subject positions for the male under patriarchy.PsychologyD.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology

Assessing Municipal Bond Default Probabilities

In response to a request from the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission, we propose a model to estimate default probabilities for bonds issued by cities. The model can be used with financial data available in Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports that cities are required to publish. The study includes modeled default probability estimates for 261 California cities with population over 25,000. Our model relies on case study evidence, logistic regression analysis of major city financial statistics from the Great Depression – the last time a large number of cities defaulted – as well as logistic regression analysis of more recent city financial statistics. Independent variables in our model include (1) the ratio of interest and pension expenses to total revenue, (2) the annual change in total revenue, (3) the ratio of general fund surplus (or deficit) to general fund revenues and (4) the ratio of general fund balance to general fund expenditures

Globalization, democratization, and the Arab uprising : the international factor in MENA's failed democratization

What explains the almost negative impact of international factors on post-Uprising democratization prospects? This article compares the utility of rival “diffusionist” and neo-Gramscian political economy frames to explain this. Three international factors deter democratization. The failure of Western democracy promotion is rooted in the contradiction between the dominance of global finance capital and the norm of democratic equality; in the periphery, neo-liberalism is most compatible with hybrid regimes and, at best, “low intensity democracy.” In MENA, neo-liberalism generated a crony capitalism incompatible with democratization; while this also sparked the uprisings, these have failed to address class inequalities. Moreover at the normative level, MENA hosts the most credible counter-hegemonic ideologies; the brief peaking of democratic ideology in the region during the early uprisings soon declined amidst regional discourse wars. Non-democrats—coercive regime remnants and radical charismatic movements--were empowered by the competitive interference of rival powers in Uprising states. The collapse of many Uprising states amidst a struggle for power over the region left an environment uncongenial to democratization.PostprintPeer reviewe

Basic Atomic Physics

Contains reports on five research projects.National Science Foundation Grant PHY 89-19381National Science Foundation Grant PHY 92-21489U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-90-J-1322Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant PHY 89-21769U.S. Army - Office of Scientific Research Grant DAAL03-92-G-0229U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1207U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-90-J-164

Basic Atomic Physics

Contains reports on five research projects.National Science Foundation Grant PHY 89-19381U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Contract N00014-90-J-1322Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-89-C-0001Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001U.S. Army Research Office Contract DAAL03-89-K-0082U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1207U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-90-J-1642National Science Foundation Grant PHY 86-05893National Science Foundation Grant PHY 89-2176

Basic Atomic Physics

Contains reports on four research projects.Joint Services Electronics Program Contract DAAL03-92-C-0001National Science Foundation Grant PHY 89-19381U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-90-J-1322National Science Foundation Grant PHY 89-21769U.S. Army - Office of Scientific Research Contract DAAL03-89-K-0082U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-89-J-1207U.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research Grant N00014-90-J-164

The Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone system in patients with depression compared to controls – a sleep endocrine study

BACKGROUND: Hypercortisolism as a sign of hypothamamus-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis overactivity and sleep EEG changes are frequently observed in depression. Closely related to the HPA axis is the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) as 1. adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) is a common stimulus for cortisol and aldosterone, 2. cortisol release is suppressed by mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) agonists 3. angiotensin II (ATII) releases CRH and vasopressin from the hypothalamus. Furthermore renin and aldosterone secretion are synchronized to the rapid eyed movement (REM)-nonREM cycle. METHODS: Here we focus on the difference of sleep related activity of the RAAS between depressed patients and healthy controls. We studied the nocturnal plasma concentration of ACTH, cortisol, renin and aldosterone, and sleep EEG in 7 medication free patients with depression (1 male, 6 females, age: (mean +/-SD) 53.3 ± 14.4 yr.) and 7 age matched controls (2 males, 5 females, age: 54.7 ± 19.5 yr.). After one night of accommodation a polysomnography was performed between 23.00 h and 7.00 h. During examination nights blood samples were taken every 20 min between 23.00 h and 7.00 h. Area under the curve (AUC) for the hormones separated for the halves of the night (23.00 h to 3.00 h and 3.00 h to 7.00 h) were used for statistical analysis, with analysis of co variance being performed with age as a covariate. RESULTS: No differences in ACTH and renin concentrations were found. For cortisol, a trend to an increase was found in the first half of the night in patients compared to controls (p < 0.06). Aldosterone was largely increased in the first (p < 0.05) and second (p < 0.01) half of the night. Cross correlations between hormone concentrations revealed that in contrast to earlier findings, which included only male subjects, in our primarily female sample, renin and aldosterone secretion were not coupled and no difference between patients and controls could be found, suggesting a gender difference in RAAS regulation. No difference in conventional sleep EEG parameters were found in our sample. CONCLUSION: Hyperaldosteronism could be a sensitive marker for depression. Further our findings point to an altered renal mineralocorticoid sensitivity in patients with depression

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase&nbsp;1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation&nbsp;disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age&nbsp; 6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score&nbsp; 652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc&nbsp;= 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N&nbsp;= 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in&nbsp;Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in&nbsp;Asia&nbsp;and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701